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During the Korean War the Congress created yet another agency focusing on small business, the Small Defense Plants Administration. It carried a portfolio similar to its predecessor Smaller War Plants Corporation with the exception that small business lending authority remained with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The Small Defense Plants Administration performed initial screening and provided counseling services to small businesses and provided certification that they were competent to receive government contracts. The businesses then entered the loan process of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
If you're looking for a way to help your business grow, now would be a good time to understand how the government can help you with your small business needs. |
The Founding of SBA
To streamline government support for small business President Eisenhower proposed the formation of the Small Business Administration and it was created by Congress in July 1953." The charter also stipulated that SBA would ensure small businesses a "fair proportion" of government contracts and sales of surplus property.
Initially the SBA focused on providing direct loans to small businesses, guaranteeing bank loans and making loans to victims of natural disasters. The Administration also provided assistance to small businesses to procure government contracts and provided management consulting and technical assistance.
The Investment Company Act of 1958 established the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program, under which SBA licensed, regulated and helped provide funds for privately owned and operated venture capital investment firms. They specialized in providing long-term debt and equity investments to high-risk small businesses. Its creation was the result of a Federal Reserve study that discovered, in the simplest terms, that small businesses could not get the credit they needed to keep pace with technological advancement.
In 1964 the SBA expanded its portfolio to join the War on Poverty, with the Equal Opportunity Loan Program (EOL). The Equal Opportunity Loan Program presented citizens living below the poverty level with the opportunity to receive credit with reduced collateral and application requirements. This enabled small businesses with sound business opportunities to get the financing that they needed to pursue them.
SBA Today
The breadth and scope of programs offered by the Small Business Administration has never been more extensive than it is today. The SBA helps and is an advocate for all U.S. small businesses in every enterprise category and every State and Territory. Whether its providing procurement assistance for federal contracts, management consulting, or outreach to women, minorities and veterans, the Small Business Administration is an able partner. SBA also provides loans to victims of natural disasters and specialized advice and assistance in international trade.
Small Business Administration Background
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About The Author Michael Saunders has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He edits a site on Government Grants for Women Owned Businesses and also edits HandsNet - A Human Services News Website. |
Additional Government Grants Resources
California Housing Finance Agency
The California Housing Finance Agency, otherwise known as CalHFA, is an independent, self-supporting agency that was chartered to as the State's affordable housing bank to make low interest rate loans through the sale of tax-exempt bonds; with these bonds being repaid by revenues generated through mortgage loans, instead of taxpayer dollars.
Centers for Material Life Cycle Safety Program
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has established the Centers for Material Life Cycle Safety Program wherein it intends to solicit applications for the development of interdisciplinary centers that have the capability of focusing on the creation of chemicals, compounds, mixtures of compounds, or products.
Disaster Relief Loans from GovLoans
GovLoans is a website created by the United States Federal Government that is designed to serve as the public's gateway to loan program information. One of the several kinds of loans that are featured in the GovLoans website are Disaster Relief loans.
United States Agency for International Development: Citizen Engagement and Elections Project in Mongolia
The Citizen Engagement and Election Projects in Mongolia aims to encourage increased citizen participation, mobilization and education during the months prior to the Mongolian parliamentary elections in 2012.
ENGAGE: Learning to Solve Problems, Solving Problems to Learn
The ENGAGE program is initially seeking to uncover proposals for innovative research studies that would lead young students to be more "engaged" in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics(STEM).
Federal Emergency Management Agency: Earthquake & Building Science Program Support Implementation
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has recently proposed to enter into a cooperative agreement entitled Earthquake and Building Science Program Implementation with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc.(FLASH).
Department of Agriculture: Technical Assistance and Training Grant
The Department of Agriculture has recently established the Technical Assistance and Training Grants program.
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Influencing Social Good Through Retail
When Hannah Davis traveled to China to teach English, she noticed how Chinese workers and farmers were often sporting olive green army-style shoes. Those shoes served as her inspiration to create her own social enterprise, Bangs Shoes.
